


two ghosts

by lovely_ziam



Category: One Direction (Band), Zayn Malik (Musician)
Genre: Halloween, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-26
Updated: 2017-10-26
Packaged: 2019-01-23 14:16:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12509296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovely_ziam/pseuds/lovely_ziam
Summary: “D’ you reckon we’ll be celebrating with our kids, one day?” Liam asks hesitantly, after a moment, while his fingers tug through the hair at the back of Zayn’s head. “Dressing up, goin’ trick or treating — all that?”Zayn smiles, sliding his leg between Liam’s thighs.“Of course,” he says softly, his lips nudging against Liam’s jaw.Or: It's Halloween.





	two ghosts

**Author's Note:**

> I found this lurking on my laptop & thought it made sense to post it as it's almost halloween!
> 
> The title bears no relevance to this drabble other than the fact that I was listening to the song when I was reading through it & "ghosts" are obviously rather fitting with halloween aha x
> 
> p/s this is super fluffy and pretty gross

A soft murmur from the radio fills the room with quiet noise, while Loki’s whimpered snores echo against it. A sharp, brewing wind catches at the glimpses of reds and yellows as the leaves fall from the skeleton of a tree and settle over the windowsill. 

Zayn glances out of the window, noticing the pale sun tucked away behind clouds on a cobalt canvas, constant glimmers of light pouring through.

He is buried beneath several blankets on the sofa with Rhino at his feet, a shiver trembling his limbs at the draft slipping under the door. He pushes his glasses further up the bridge of his nose every so often, biting over the soft flesh of his lip as he reads, a book spread out in his lap. 

Loki yelps quietly as a jingle of keys sounds somewhere in the distance, leaping from where he is wedged beneath Zayn’s arm and darting into the hallway out of sight. Zayn folds down the corner of his page and closes the book, a smile shifting over his lips as Liam appears in the doorway. 

Dragging his glasses away from his face, he wanders a lingering look over the smear of crinkles brushed to the corner of Liam’s soft eyes, and to the hair falling messily over his forehead. The birthmark scribbled to the centre of Liam’s neck, the rough stubble clinging to his jaw that Zayn could kiss over and over. 

Finally time together, in between their busy schedules and flying half way across other sides of the world — and Zayn is taking every moment he can to stare. 

“Mornin’, sunshine,” Liam says softly, grinning and momentarily breaking Zayn from his thoughts. 

Zayn grimaces, wrinkling his nose as a kiss is nudged over his forehead. 

After kicking off his shoes, and giggling as Loki brushes possessive kisses over his face, Liam nestles into the sea of blankets beside Zayn. 

“Sorry I wasn’t here when you woke up but we ran out of that green tea you like, so I popped out to buy more.”

Zayn smiles, dragging a throw around his shoulders as he strokes through Loki’s hair.

“Looks like more than just tea,” Zayn notes, gesturing towards the carrier bags now filling most of the space on the coffee table. 

“Sainsbury’s have this huge Halloween section,” Liam explains, reaching for a bag and placing it carefully in Zayn’s lap. “Decorations and costumes nd’ all.”

Zayn pulls out two pumpkins, an eyebrow raised as he glances up to Liam.

“I thought we could carve em’,” Liam says, beaming. “And decorate the house, or summat.”

A fond smile shifts over Zayn’s lips at the eager expression clinging to Liam’s features , and he reaches out to brush soft fingers over Liam’s jaw. 

“Sick idea, babe,” he mumbles, watching as crinkles crease Liam’s skin in excitement. 

He follows Liam into the kitchen, listening to him rattle on about the decorations he bought.

Zayn wraps his arms around Liam’s waist as he empties the bags onto the kitchen counter, reaching onto his toes to hook his chin over Liam’s shoulder. A kiss lingers over his jaw, his front pressed to Liam’s spine.

“Hi,” he says quietly with a grin, lips wandering across the heavy scruff scattered over his skin.

“Hey,” Liam mumbles, straining his neck to kiss over Zayn’s lips.

Zayn hums through a smile as Liam turns in his hold and fingers stroke over his jaw, thumbs padding out over his cheeks. Liam’s hands leave little touches down Zayn’s sides, hands gripping the back of his thighs as he easily lifts Zayn and sits him on top of the counter.

Zayn’s eyes flutter shut as Liam buries a smile into the crook of his neck, and he swallows down the _‘please stay here with me forever’_ as Liam’s lips kiss over his skin.

“Somebody’s a little needy this morning,” Liam notes, but there’s a grin staining his lips when he pulls away.

Zayn shrugs, unaffected, and traps his legs around Liam’s waist to pull him closer. 

“You’ll be gone, soon,” he mumbles in explanation, nudging soft touches along the bottom of Liam’s spine with his toes. “Gotta make every second count, babes.”

Liam hums something incoherent while brushing a silent kiss to the corner of Zayn’s mouth, both arms cradling Zayn’s torso.

“You’ll be busy writing,” Liam reminds him softly, both thumbs dragging mindless patterns over his neck. “And recording, and getting into all these clubs and meeting a huge group of lads who want to make music with you. You’ll forget all about me.”

A half smile clings to Zayn’s lips as he knots his fingers into the back of Liam’s t-shirt.

“That would never happen.”

“Wouldn’t let it,” Liam grins, unwinding Zayn’s legs from around his waist and then coaxing a gentle kiss over pouting lips. 

Zayn reluctantly pulls away and crosses his legs on the worktop, watching Liam fuss around the kitchen. There’s this crinkled line pressed over his skin in a frown, his teeth biting along his lip as he reads something from his phone. Zayn can’t stop looking at the messy strands of hair falling over his forehead, fingers pushing it from his eyes when it frays over his eyelashes, the splatter of a birthmark peeking from the collar of his shirt.

“C’mere,” Liam instructs as he drags Zayn to the kitchen table and pulls him into the window seat.

There is now newspaper scattered across the table, two pumpkins and knives sat on top.

“D’you want me to find you a template?” Liam asks, eyes flickering a glance towards Zayn before he presses himself into the chair opposite and taps away at his phone.

Zayn shakes his head, a silly grin pressed over his lips as he nudges Liam’s thighs with his toes underneath the table.

“Goin’ straight at it, babe.”

He spends more time watching Liam with this fond, warm smile, than he spends carving out the pumpkin.

A mindless giggle brushes past his lips when Liam hisses as he pulls out the pumpkin’s insides; his face a grimace as he squirms at the mess in his hands. Zayn bites back a grin when he sees Liam’s tongue poking in between his lips in concentration as he carves out the mouth, his eyes focused and ignoring the brush of Zayn’s toes over his ankles.

He shoves at Zayn’s shoulder when he catches him staring, glaring as he turns his pumpkin and huffs at the smile shoved over Zayn’s lips.

“No looking til’ we’re done,” he mumbles, pushing back on the chair so that the legs squeak across the floor.

Zayn sighs and draws a template of a face over the front of his pumpkin, sneaking glances of Liam every few minutes.

“Finished!” Liam announces fifteen minutes later, wiping over the surface of the pumpkin with a proud smile.

“Me too,” Zayn says as he drags the knife into the pumpkin once more before popping out the nose and adding it to the pile of pumpkin pieces the table. “Lemme see, Leeyum.”

He props his chin onto his knees as Liam turns his around and exclaims an enthusiastic _‘ta-da!’_

“S’ Harry Potter,” he explains, eyes flickering to the pumpkin and back to Zayn with a hopeful smile. There’s a wonky pair of glasses framed around the eyes, a lightning-shaped scar with jagged edges carved at the top.

“It’s sick, babe. I love it,” Zayn tells him softly, watching as a grin shaping Liam’s lips presses laughter lines over his skin.

 

|+|

 

“Smile, sweetheart,” Liam says gently, as he snaps photos of Zayn holding the pumpkins. 

There is a stubborn glare pressed over Zayn’s expression, which he ignores. 

“I’ll take some of you,” Zayn suggests, reaching across the island to take the phone from Liam’s hands. He whines under his breath when Liam pulls away, shaking his head and muttering something about sending the photos to his mum.

“Please?” Liam asks, a pout drawing a frown to his brow.

Zayn sighs before reluctantly turning towards Liam, lifting his lips into a smile and holding his thumbs up as Liam takes the photos with a spark of flash spilling from his phone.

“Thanks, babe,” Liam mumbles as he drags a black and white filter over one of the pictures, his smile still lingering as his thumbs tap over the screen. 

Zayn takes several photos of Liam when he’s placing tea lights in the pumpkins, and then several more of the decorations draped around the kitchen. There are now cobwebs tracing the glass of the windows and a banner hanging just above; a skeleton on the back of the door and orange candles lit along the windowsill.

Zayn leans into the gentle touch Liam’s hand runs along the bottom of his spine, humming at the kiss left to his cheek. 

“We all used to decorate the house when I was younger,” he explains, chin propped on top of Zayn’s shoulder. “Mum was obsessed with putting up decorations for any occasion…this reminds me of being a kid.”

Zayn breathes a smile and sinks into Liam’s side. He takes note and sends the photos to Karen whilst Liam is ordering take out, grinning fondly when she replies with **I knew he’d make you do it!! x** only several minutes later.

 

|+|

 

There’s a cigarette tucked between his lips when the sky is a faded amber and the sun is trapped behind a bundle of feathery clouds. He watches Liam throw the ball for the dogs, flickers of light shadowed across his skin — a strand of hair swept messily over his forehead and crinkles smeared around his eyes as he chases after Loki.

He shifts beneath the blanket enveloping his body, wishing he could do this forever. Stay right here, with Liam, in their home. Feel Liam’s smile over his skin when he brushes kisses into the crook of his neck, or watch Liam’s eyes light up when whispers of soft ‘ _I love you’s’_ are exchanged, just like the first time he mumbled it under the duvet in the X Factor house. Liam bringing him tea, because his first cup got too cold while he was reading, or lying in bed in the mornings listening to Liam’s soft melodies in the shower.

Simple snippets of normality in this blur of a crazy life.

He grins as Liam pads over to the table, shoulders low as he slips into the chair beside Zayn and reaches for the pack of Marlboros and the lighter on the table.

“Watson is the most disobedient dog you’ll ever meet,” he sighs, biting over his lower lip as a flicker of a flame breaks from the lighter. “At least Rhino actually brings the ball back.”

Zayn shrugs, smirking through a cloud of smoke. 

“He’s a Malik,” he says with a grin, laughing at the disgruntled whine pressing over Liam’s tongue.

He shuffles his chair a bit closer to Zayn’s and scratches soft fingers over his wrist. 

His cheeks are painted a warm red from the icy breeze, a small smile rippling wrinkles around his eyes as he leans his head onto Zayn’s shoulder.

“D’ you reckon we’ll be celebrating with our kids, one day?” Liam asks hesitantly, after a moment, while his fingers tug through the hair at the back of Zayn’s head. “Dressing up, goin’ trick or treating — all that?”

Zayn smiles, sliding his leg between Liam’s thighs. 

“Of course,” he says softly, his lips nudging against Liam’s jaw. “When everything’s died down, a bit, with our careers.”

The stutter of Zayn’s heart calms as the familiar taste of Earl Grey and tobacco is brushed over his lips, his eyelids fluttering closed at the kiss Liam nestles into his mouth.

“Could be a while,” Liam grins in a whisper when he pulls away, reaching to tap ash into the tray on the table. “I reckon your fans will be wanting new albums for a while yet.”

Zayn shrugs, humming under his breath.

“You’ve got a reunion tour with the others that you keep promising.”

Liam turns his head, watching Loki chase after Rhino across the far stretch of grass. 

“One day, babe,” Zayn whispers, shifting closer. “We’ll have a little Batman and Iron Man running round the place at some point, I promise.”

Liam huffs a laugh as he exhales a cloud of smoke.

“C’n we be one of those over-the-top couples that match their outfits with their kids?” He asks with an amused smile, glancing back to Zayn.

Zayn snorts in response, huddling closer to Liam as his lips tremble a gentle “Anything you want, babe.”

Liam hums under his breath, a satisfied smile clinging to his expression as he stabs out the embers of the cigarette. An arm slips around Zayn’s shoulders, cradling him in. 

Loki’s barks echo against the rustle of wind tracing shivers along Zayn’s skin, while the faint beating of Liam’s heart rests against his ear as he leans into Liam’s chest. 

He tilts his head to look up at Liam, unable to shake the grin from his lips. He stares for several moments, before reaching up to murmur a kiss over the birthmark stained to Liam’s neck and brush a warm smile over cold skin.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry if this was too fluffy for your liking, I can't help myself when writing ziam haha. x
> 
> You can find me on [tumblr](http://englandziam.tumblr.com/) !


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